Investigation on sorption and release of radiocesium by certain coastal sediments in Egypt

The study presented in this paper deals with the sorption and desorption of cesium-134 by bottom sediment samples collected from Port Said Harbour area (PSH). The effect of contact time, PH and carrier concentration on the sorption of radiocesium by the sediment had been investigated using either distilled water or sea water for preparing the solutions. The desorption of radiocesium from the sediment had also been studied using either distilled or sea water. The results show that the uptake of cesium-134 by sediments increases significantly in fresh water medium compared to sea water. The pH changes had no effect on sorption behaviour whereas it increases linearly with the increase in carrier concentration. The release of cesium-134 from sediments is more appreciable from sea water than from fresh water regardless of pH